"The principal won't be happy," sighed Mr. Akan as he placed his hands on his temple while rotating his chair left and right.
"What has gotten into these children?" Mrs. Nelson wondered with both hands strapped around her waist. "And why didn't Nsikan say anything right from the beginning?"
"Exactly!" Miss. Atinuke exclaimed. "She came shouting the roof off as if we were gods capable of knowing things hidden from us."
I wanted to tell them it was their job to check on the well-being of students occasionally. If they couldn't, the school guidance counsellor could've. That was her job. But instead, I remained silent while watching the teachers fall into their dilemma.
"Damian," I turned once Mr. Akan called me, "go get me, Queen, Chloe, and Elue."
I nodded slowly. "Okay, sir."
I walked out of the office with an even more clouded mind. I knew it was serious, but how serious could it be that Nsikan's mum had to intervene?
It didn't take much time for me to get to the classroom. I moved to the centre, my eyes moving to the very back seat. "Chloe, Elue, and Queen, Mr. Akan is calling you three."
I noticed Elue as she visibly gulped, and Queen and Chloe had puzzled looks. All three got up and began heading for the classroom door. When I was about to turn, I heard my name being called.
"Damian," I sighed, stopping to look. It was Muller. He was no longer laying his head on his desk and was now sitting upright. Chuks was no longer in the class; probably his had started and he'd gone over to his, while Stella was sitting on my seat beside Thompson.
"Come!" Muller gestured with his hands. I was supposed to go back to Mr. Akan's office with Queen, Chloe, and Elue and not stay in class for some chitchat.
Sighing, I decided to walk over to my seat while hoping Muller wouldn't take much of my time.
"What's going on?" He asked, confused. "Why is Mr. Akan asking for them?"
"Nsikan's issue," I said, without beating around the bush.
"Wow!" Stella exclaimed. "Did you report them?"
"No," I said, shaking my head. "Nsikan's mum came herself and demanded they bring her parents, or she's going to sue them and the school."
"Damn," Thompson whispered.
"Look, I've got to go," I said to them straight, and I was about to turn when Stella stood up.
"Where are you going?" Thompson asked, confused for a second.
"With Damian, of course." She shrugged.
"Why?" Muller opened his mouth in a manner that scrunched his face.
"For the gist, isn't it obvious?" Stella said it like it was the most obvious thing on the planet. "Chuks ain't here, and Nsikan ain't here either." She placed her hands on her chest and signed deeply. "I'm their only hope for a detailed gist. If I leave it for Damian to gist what happened, he'll just go straight to the point, and that's so boring. Do you know Nsikan used to call you a robot?"
I spotted a small smile from Thompson, forcing me to roll my eyes. "You're not coming. Thompson, Muller, do not let her come near the office."
With that, I turned and headed out of class. I increased my pace so I could get to Mr. Akan's on time. Once at his door, I knocked and opened it.
Now, Mr. Akan wasn't alone. His officemates were in their seats, probably because they heard the news of the commotion that happened earlier. Aside from his two officemates, there were Mrs. Nelson, Miss. Atinuke, and the guidance counsellor. Queen could be seen in the middle of Chloe and Elue, and all three were currently on their knees with their heads lowered.
Click!
I turned to the door to see a phone get drawn to the other side while hearing small chuckles. Obviously, I could hear it because I was standing really close to the door. It wouldn't take a seer to know it was Stella.
"I'm going to ask you for the third time." Mr. Akan's harsh tone could be felt. "Did you or did you not bully Nsikan?"
No one spoke as their heads remained lowered with either guilt or shame, or they were just straight out scared.
"You three don't want to talk, right?" Mr. Akan slammed his hands on his desk.
"You guys should better talk for your own good so we know how to help you." Miss. Atinuke said, "Because one, your parents are getting involved, and if you do not bring your parents to school on Friday, which is when sef?" Miss. Atinuke stopped to ask, "Two days from now, Nsikan's mother is going to sue the school and your parents."
Elue was the first to lift her head as her eyes grew wide with unshed tears. "My father is going to kill me!"
"Why didn't you think about that when you were making another student's life miserable?" Mr. Akan tilted his head to the side. "When I was in school, I didn't even think about the paths you students are taking. The minds most of you have are unimaginable."
"Sir, I can't tell my parents." Elue shook her head furiously. "They'll kill me."
"Isn't she the class rep?" One of Mr. Akan's officemates asked.
Mr. Akan stared at Elue and shook his head in disappointment. "Unfortunately, she is. Look, Elue, your parents are going to know whether you want them to or not. If you don't tell them, the letter from the court is going to, and that would make things much worse."
All this time, Queen and Chloe said no words. Elue was crying at this point, tears flowing freely from her eyes as she tried using the back of her hand to stop them.
"I admit that I joined them to make fun of Nsikan at first," Elue said in a small tone. "It was entertaining then, but I stopped when things started getting out of hand."
"You called bullying your friend entertaining?" I thought the guidance counsellor had no say in this matter since she hardly did her job. The only time she was active was when she told the school to bring back the press club, but I heard she shifted the president position from Chuks to Queen just because her father was famous and owned a news media house.
"But I stopped, didn't I?" Elue was crying at this point. She turned to Chloe and Queen. "Tell them I stopped."
But the Queen and Chloe said nothing.
"Chloe and Queen bullied Nsikan once. Damian helped her get her money back, and they were angry at that. Nsikan even got cornered in the bathroom because of that incident, and I intervened. Ask Nsikan, she'll tell you."
Sir, Queen lifted her hand, ready to gain attention for herself, "I never touched Nsikan. I never beat her up. Chloe did all that."
"Queen!" Elue and Chloe yelled at the same time, but they weren't the only ones.
"Who's there?" Mr. Akan yelled angrily. "Mrs. Nelson, help me close that door well."
Mrs. Nelson helped, and at the same time, I almost face-palmed myself. I told Stella not to come.
"You three aren't ready and clearly not serious," Mr. Akan finalised, forcing other teachers to nod their heads. "You three want to start pushing blame, then get ready to do that on Friday."
"Mr. Akan!" Elue cried, but Mr. Akan was already turning back to his seat.
"Leave my office. You too, Damian. Help me tell the class that I'll be with them shortly," he announced.
"Okay, sir." I nodded. Queen was the first to leave, then Chloe, and then Elue. Right outside Mr. Akan's closed door, Chloe angrily shoved Queen against the wall, forcing more clicking sounds from Stella's camera. Stella wasn't alone; Omolara was with her.
"What did you tell Mr. Akan?" Chloe growled.
"What? Did I lie?" Stella opened her mouth at Queen's nonchalant response while looking at Omolara, who did not react whatsoever. "Aside from an ordinary slap, both times she had bruises; was I the one that caused them? You did."
"You asked me to!" Chloe yelled. "You told me to beat her up. Both times, you did."
"And? Are you a mumu? Don't you know how to say no?" Queen forcefully took Chloe's hands away. "Don't you ever stop me like this again."
With that, she walked away, and Chloe stormed in the opposite direction. I let out a scoff and bit my lips.
This is ridiculous.
"Damian," said Elue, as her hand held my school jacket. I turned to see Elue's tear-soaked face. "Damian, please, I didn't directly harm her. I can't tell my parents."
"I-I-I... will you shut up?" Stella said, stepping close to Elue. "What's that crocodile tears for? Talking as if you are not their friend and aren't aware of the stupid things they did. You were there, so just shut up! Playing victim when you're not."
"I know I'm not the victim; I'm not trying to be, but-" Elue choked, cleaning her eyes. "I just can't tell my parents. I really need Nsikan's help. My parents are so strict that any small disappointment will kill me. Chloe and Queen have nothing to fear."
"M-my parents are so strict, t-they'll kill me. C-Chloe and Q-Queen h-have n-nothing t-to f-fear," Stella mimicked with fake sympathetic expressions. "Your parents are strict and will kill you, and you're making friends with Queen and Chloe. Who wants to pity you when you literally set yourself up?"
"Damian," I sighed, turning to Elue.
"Look, we all know what you were like. You only seem tamed now, probably because you are getting mature." Stella scoffed at my words.
"Damian, all this is too much grammar. Elue was as bad as them, and they all did this just because I told Nsikan to write a letter to the previous head boy, senior Andrew. We literally call them the Trix," she said, placing my hands on her waist. "Do you think we just gave all three that name for no good reason?"
"Can you not interrupt me?" I lifted both brows at Stella. "Elue, bringing your parents here is inevitable. They have to come. I can talk to Nsikan, but It's left for her to decide."
"Talk to Nsikan for what?" I sighed deeply once Stella decided to open her mouth again. "I will personally tell Nsikan not to put her mouth into this matter."
"What are you doing here?" I arched a brow, and that shut Stella up.
"Hmm?" She said, trying to play dumb.
"I told Thompson and Muller not to bring you here." Stella nodded at that.
"You did say that." She kept nodding. "But you never said Omolara couldn't."
"Hi." Omolara made a hello gesture. I watched Stella place her hand on Omolara's shoulder, and I stared dryly at both of them. Without saying anything, I sidestepped them and headed for class.
───※ ·❆· ※───
I moved into the classroom and walked over to my seat. I sat down without saying a word, forcing Thompson's and Muller's eyes to be fixed on me. It didn't take long for Stella to walk through the classroom door laughing-probably at the pictures she took of Queen, Chloe, and Elue. With Omolara beside her, both moved over to their seats and sat down.
"I asked you both not to let her come," I said to my friends.
"She was with Omolara," Muller said dryly. "Everyone knows Omolara isn't into others' drama."
"Then I guessed everyone was wrong." The door to the classroom opened again, and this time it was Elue. Her eyes were red, but there was no trace of tears whatsoever.
"What happened?" Thompson asked after watching Elue move back to her seat. She wasn't alone; Queen was already present, but Chloe was nowhere to be seen.
"Mr. Akan demanded they all bring their parents on Friday." I leaned against my seat as I folded my arms with a sigh. "Elue kept crying that her parents would kill her if they found out."
Muller turned to look at Elue, then back at me. "Shouldn't she have thought of that before joining Chloe and Queen?"
"I don't want to think much over her matter," I said with fact. "It all falls on Nsikan at the end."
"What of Chloe?" Thompson asked. "Is she serving punishment?"
I scoffed, remembering the drama that happened in front of Mr. Akan's office. "You can put it that way."
He knew I wouldn't go further than that. Why bother when I knew Stella was going to fill them in?
The door opened again, and this time, it was Mr. Akan. He had a sombre expression as he moved to the centre of the class.
"Where's Chloe?" He asked after roaming the class with his eyes. No one said a word since no one knew where she went. "Anyways, I've got pressing matters to deal with, so I won't teach you guys this morning."
The class murmured with excitement, which made Mr. Akan scoff.
"Why are you guys happy? You better take your studies seriously, because you'll be writing WAEC soon. Anyway, your mock exams will tell if you are ready or not." Mr. Akan folded his arms with a sigh. "Elue..."
"Yes, sir," she responded.
"I'm relieving you of your duties as class representative." The class began to murmur greatly at this announcement. Muller and Thompson weren't exceptions, as they kept whispering their thoughts on the matter. I was a bit shocked as well, though someone would find that hard to believe because of how expressionless I was on the matter. "I know you are aware of the reason."
I turned to see Elue nod quietly. I could tell she was trying hard not to cry in front of everyone. Others who weren't aware of the reason kept voicing their confusion.
"I'll be giving it to..." Mr. Akan paused, roaming the class with his eyes again. "Omolara."
"Uh?" I turned in time to see Omolara's eyes grow wide and Stella pointing at her while laughing.
"Yes, you. You're one of the best students in this class. I believe you can handle the position." Mr. Akan tried encouraging her, but she was just dumbfounded.
"What's happening?" Muller chuckled in disbelief. "Omolara, our class rep?"
"With that said," Mr. Akan continued, "I'll be leaving you all. Omolara, write down the names of noisemakers and send them to me by the end of this period. The teacher's toilet needs to be cleaned."
And with that, Mr. Akan walked out of the class. Irrespective of the fact that he had given a task to Omolara to write down the names of those making noise during his absence, the class couldn't help but voice out their confusion over the current change of position.
I turned to the back, only to see Elue's head on her desk and her shoulder shaking softly like she was crying.
"I've been thinking," I said quietly.
"You've been doing that more than necessary," Muller responded dryly.
I moved my eyes from Elue to Stella. I knew she and Chuks would go see Nsikan today. With all the drama going on, I knew it would be hard for her to keep it to herself. "How about we join Stella and Chuks to pay Nsikan a visit?"
───※ ·❆· ※───
That's all for today guys.
What do you think about this chapter and the drama going on between Queen, Chloe, and Elue?
See y'all next Friday✨